


All You Need is Time and a Good Hug

by dripping_moonlight



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Sky just thinks so, it's not even namedropped though, originally an lw that's been lightly edited so formatting is wack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23048356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dripping_moonlight/pseuds/dripping_moonlight
Summary: Loneliness breeds bad thoughts. Warriors needs some company to chase away his demons.
Relationships: Sky & Warriors (Linked Universe), Sky/Sun (Linked Universe), Warriors (Linked Universe)/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	All You Need is Time and a Good Hug

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of an AU originally based on Buzzfeed Unsolved that truly went off the deep end where Sky is Ryan and Warriors is Shane, so if you know anything about that ;). The whole r*pe thing is more of a metaphor and there is absolutely nothing explicit (other than language), but I still wanted to include the tags just in case.

Ringing. Ringing. The infernal chunk of so-called intelligent technology would not cease.

Sky flipped over his pillow, hoping the soft feathers would drown out the infernal ringing, but that was too much to expect from down and silk. 

It stopped. Sky peeked out from his fortress, hopeful the campaign had ended, only for the merciless ringing to begin again. 

"Would you just answer the damn thing already?" Sun mumbled from beside him, still half asleep. Sky grumbled in defeat, stretching out his arm from his oh-so-warm duvet. 

*7 missed calls from Ghoul Brother*

Sky sucked on his teeth louder than he cared to admit. 

"Who is it?" Sun finally asked after a minute of willing herself to escape her blanket prison.

"Warriors." 

"Well are you going to call him back?"

Sky made no response, choosing instead to unplug his phone from where it was charging, and hopping out of bed. He put on his slippers, and left the room, his finger already having tapped the call back option.

A million thoughts were already crowding Sky's mind. Was something wrong? Was he injured? Warriors only called when it was an emergency--usually because he needed a babysitter--but Wind was safely tucked in with Hyrule in the bedroom beside his and Sun's. 

But Sky did not have long to think himself into a panic as Warriors answered so quickly. 

"Heyy, what's up?" came Warriors' voice through the receiver, a little wavy at first but evening out as he completed his sentence. 

"’What's up?’" Sky asked back incredulously. "War- why are you calling at-" he pulled his phone away from his ear, squinting through the brightness assaulting his pupils to make out the time, "2:17 am?"

The other end was silent for a solid minute, before Warriors came back in. "I got bored?” Another, shorter, pause, “Sorry...were you busy?"

"Yeah? I was asleep." More silence. 

"Oh you're right I hadn't even noticed the hour sorry for botheringyoubye," Warriors responded, rushing to finish his sentence to the point his words slurred together before hanging up without further explanation. 

Sky once more pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at it in confusion.

He only looked up when he heard the tell-tale creak of his shared bedroom, turning to see Sun's shadowy figure. 

"Everything alright?" Her voice was still laced with the remnants of sleep, but the concern was there nonetheless. Sky couldn't help but smile, only to remember the conversation--if it could be called that--he had just had. 

"No? Well- I don't know. He kinda sounded like he was crying." It came out before Sky even thought it through, but he realized that was what had felt so wrong about Warriors' voice. 

Now Sun's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Do you think they're fighting?"

Sky shook his head before reconsidering his assertion. He and Sun sometimes disagreed with each other, but no argument had ever resulted in him calling a friend in the middle of the night. But he and Sun had been dating much longer than Warriors and Mikhael, not to mention they had known each other for even longer than that. Though Warriors and Mikhael seemed steady enough, it could never be discounted as a possibility. 

"I don't know," He finally replied. 

Sun made her way towards the couch Sky was already occupying, "So what are you gonna do?" 

Sky plopped his head back against Sun's chest, taking note of the details in the popcorn of the ceiling of the apartment he and Sun had worked so hard to buy. If Warriors was pretending to just be bored, it might be a secret cry for help. But he may also just have been drunk. Still, Sky couldn't shake off the feeling something was off. 

He untangled himself from Sun, heading for his shoes by the door, "I'm going over."

\--

The drive to Warriors house was nothing special, just 20 minutes of empty interstate until he reached the suburbs Warriors had decided to move into. He parked in the driveway, noting Mikhael's car was missing from its usual spot behind Warriors'. 

Sky strolled up the stairs of the porch, careful not to slip on the ice quickly accumulating on the ground. He knocked once. Twice. No answer. He tried the doorbell. None once more. Sending a silent apology to the neighbors, Sky shouted for Warriors to answer. At last, a response, and the signature clicking of locks. 

Warriors opened the door with a smile too wide and eyes too red but otherwise looking unharmed. 

"Heyy... I thought you were busy sleeping."

Sky resolved to get the story out of Warriors even if it took all night. "Yeah, I wasn't tired anymore and Sunny would've kicked me out if I bothered her." Warriors hummed in acknowledgment, but his eyes were already losing focus. "So can I come in?" 

Warriors blinked rapidly a few times, even shaking his head, before nodding and moving out of the way so Sky could enter. 

Sky made his way over to the divan, passing candles burning in pools of melted wax so deep the Hidden Village could be there. He sidestepped small mounds of wrappers, casings to who knows what, and even random articles of clothing. 

Warriors, still standing by the door, at least had the gall to look apologetic. "Sorry, I haven't gotten around to cleaning in a while."

Sky hmm'd, nodding his head at the mess, before patting the space beside him hoping Warriors would understand.

He did, joining Sky a moment later, hesitating only to turn on a lamp in the farthest corner of the room. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Sky hoping he wouldn't need to explicitly ask, but Warriors making his wish less probable. 

With a minute sigh, Sky started, "So what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Warriors answered too fast, "Was just lonely."

"Where's Mik?"

"Visiting his family." He began bouncing his leg. 

"Did you two have a fight?" Warriors barely startled from his enthralling leg bouncing routine, but still shook his head no. "He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"

Warriors finally snapped his attention back to Sky. "Goddesses no...I knew he was going out of town, I'm just being stupid."

"No, no you're not being stupid," Sky reassured, reaching to put an arm on Warriors' shoulder. Until he flinched. Hard.

"Don't touch me please," Warriors squeezed the words out of his lips, as if they had the same mysterious ailment which had also shut his eyes. Already, his breath hitched and began to speed up. Sky removed the offending hand. 

"War...what happened? Are you okay?"

Warriors took a few deep, practiced, breaths. "Just...I should've gone to bed, but I was editing and it was so late but just...thoughts...from the past." 

Sky's frown deepened, not that it mattered considering the only source of light in the whole of the expansive living room was a dying candle and a lamp 20 feet away. 

"Can you tell me what thoughts?" 

Warriors resumed the bouncing of his leg, adding the cracking of his knuckles to his cacophony of fidgets. "Some guy...some years ago." Warriors stood up suddenly, almost robotically. He made his way to the connected kitchen, heading directly to the sink. From his spot on the divan, Sky could only make out Warriors' figure over the sink, furiously scrubbing at his hands.

After what seemed like forever, Warriors finally shut off the tap, returning to the space beside Sky, though not bothering to turn his head to look Sky's way. 

Meanwhile, Sky wracked his brain for the best method to continue. He knew he had to be sensitive, but it would be easiest to rip off that emotional band-aid. 

"What did he do?" 

Warriors barked out a laugh, "Not enough." 

"Stop it. Being cryptic is Time's job. What happened?" 

"He was perfect. I was young. He was younger." A pause. Sky was just about to grab Warriors, to physically shake the story out of him--he had not slept enough--but he did not. It would not help. Despite the low light, Sky could see the tears threatening to spill over Warriors' eyes. "We fell in love. And he told me he loved me," Warriors sucked in a watery breath, "and I loved him," his voice began to break. 

He rested his head on his left fist, supported by the only armrest of the seat. "I ate the wrong thing. The right thing for him. A slice of brioche. With jam," he hissed, "it was the jam." He threw his hands out in front of him in exasperation, raising his voice with them, "and I wake up the next morning and-" he slams his hands down, the deadly calm of his voice only betrayed by the wavering, "and next thing I know he's taken an integral part of me with him forever."

He whips around to face Sky, tears streaming down his angry face, his voice still wavering but increasing both in volume and in speed. "And I knew I wasn't going home again. But in the back of my mind I still had hope, but now I knew I could never return, no matter how hard I tried, I’ll never go back and it’s all his fault!."

His breathing increased with his tears, and Sky feared he'd start hyperventilating soon. 

"Breathe, War, please." Sky reached out again, only to be met with another flinch. 

Warriors did try to breathe. He counted to ten. He watched imaginary fish swim in an infinity loop. He tried, but his breathing did not even out. He began to fidget again, before turning to Sky, near pleading, "Do you mind if I smoke?" 

Sky was taken aback. "I didn't know you smoked." But the question seemed to be more of a formality, as Warriors was already up, making his way to a seemingly innocuous bookshelf. He pulled out a thick tome--an ancient looking encyclopedia entry on demonic relations with humans--opening it to reveal a secret compartment of packs of cigarettes and lighters. He took one of each out before replacing the book back to the shelf it called home. "I don't. Or haven't- not in a while. I did much more when I was younger, but Wind doesn't-" he stopped to struggle with the lighter, "come on you stupid- fucking finally," he muttered, finally lighting the stick of nicotine and taking a drag. He looked up to Sky, still sitting on the frilly divan, still wordless. "I'll take it outside."

And he did. Opening the screen door to the back porch, Warriors stepped out as he let the quickly developing winter storm in. 

It was only then Sky noticed: Warriors wasn't wearing a shirt.

Sky sat, still shocked, stock still. He half expected to be woken up by Wind and Hyrule's antics, but this was no dream--nightmare--if the text he just got from Sun was anything to go by. 

_ How is he? _ it read. Sky answered as best as he could, but nothing seemed to make sense. Warriors wasn't exactly old, but bad experiences weren't held off by youth. Nonetheless, he tried explaining to Sun all that Warriors had just told him. And the  _ smoking _ . Warriors had never expressed a knack for nicotine, but apparently the pretty boy wasn't so perfect after all. 

Sky had almost been too caught up in his thoughts to hear the  _ schwing _ of Sun's reply. 

_ Hun, you realize what that sounds like, right? _

And it did. Once more, Sun had completed a thought he didn't yet know he had. But it was true, wasn't it? The handwashing, the flinching, the little he had actually said. Little else fit the bill. Sky was way in over his head. 

\--

Outside, Warriors let the cold bite him into consciousness. He had spent too long in his head, or rather outside of it, looking down at his body with a distinct disdain. 

He took another drag, letting the cancer stick, as Wind had so named them, bring his heart rate to a manageable level. He knew he'd have to go back in eventually. Face his demons. 

He laughed at the thought. Two hundred years, and  _ his _ worst nightmare was still a  _ human _ baker. He didn’t care about the physicality of the violation anymore. He had long worked past that. It was the breaching of his trust--a trust he had never granted anyone before or anyone since--that still gave him heartache. 

He felt tears carve down his cheeks again, but he paid them no attention. He'd been crying for hours- what was one more? He laid his head down on the fence of the balcony, focusing only on the stinging cold and the rhythmic in and out of the smoke. 

Once the cigarette had burned to near extinction, and the cold had penetrated his skin, he finally made his way back in. 

\--

Sky heard the porch open again, turning to look immediately, only to see Warriors extinguishing the damned cigarette on his wrist.

"Stop!" Sky yelled, scaring them both. Warriors jumping paused the ministrations, letting the butt drop to the kitchen tile, muttering to himself what sounded like "fuck am I doing?"

He stomped on the butt, ensuring it was utterly unlit, and returned to the divan, shivering, but silent. Sky wanted to say so much, but he didn’t know what. At last, he mustered the courage to ask, "And what did you do?"

Warriors didn't turn, or even acknowledge Sky speaking, for a few minutes, but Sky now knew better than to try and force him. 

At last, he spoke. "I left. Didn't know where to--it was my house,” he sounded almost bitter,” but I couldn't think of anything more than to flee." He laughed a little, bringing his hand up to rub his face tiredly, then turned to Sky, smiling sadly. "He found me the next day. I think I passed out in a ditch or something, but...he talked to me. Or tried to. I didn't listen. He told me it wasn't him. That he loved me still.” He paused again, lowering his voice but raising his eyes so they were looking directly into Sky’s, “Is it wrong that I believed him?"

Sky could barely respond. “No,” he wanted to say, “of course not.” BUt he wasn’t sure if it even came out. Warriors barreled through. "But I think...he didn't really love me. If he had," he grew terse, "he wouldn't have been such a coward," he near yelled, "and killed me instead," he all but spat out the word. 

Sky gasped. "You would've preferred death?"

"It'd hurt a hell of a lot less." 

And Sky couldn't say no. 

Despite his best judgement, Sky crashed into Warriors, wrapping his arms around the older man. 

Sky whispered into his ear, "I'm sorry, War. I'm sorry he did that to you. But it was not your fault. And you don't deserve to die."

Warriors had stopped breathing at the first sign of contact, but even in his panicked state he couldn't deny how good it felt to be held. So he held on too, wrapping his arms around Sky, digging his face into his neck, crying with all the energy he didn’t have; crying what he had not allowed himself to cry until now. 

And neither said anything. Neither needed to. All Warriors needed was time and a good hug.


End file.
